Effect of Adding Functionalized Graphene on the Performance of PVDF Membrane in Direct Contact Membrane Distillation

Abstract

In this paper, the effect of adding modified graphene nanoplatelets (MGNPs) as a filler on the characteristics and performance of Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane in a direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) configuration was investigated. Both pure PVDF and PVDF/MGNPs composite (2%) membranes were fabricated by using electrospinning technique. The fabricated membranes were characterized using different analyses techniques such as SEM imaging, XRD analysis, static water contact angle as well as membrane porosity and liquid enter pressure measurements. Also, the average fiber diameter and the average membrane pore diameter were estimated using ImageJ software. The prepared PVDF/MGNPs composite membrane exhibited lower fiber diameter by about 5.7%, whereas the contact angle increased by 10 and liquid entry pressure increased by 11.7%. The membrane also showed an enhanced flux that reached about 19.8 kg/m2∙h at feed inlet temperature of 65°C, feed flow rate of 30 l/h. and feed inlet concentration of 10000 ppm. This represents about 13.46% improvement over the pure PVDF membrane at the same conditions. The produced membrane presents a viable alternative to commercial MD membranes.